Tennessee Tech: VISION research lab the first of its kind

Thanks to a partnership with the education department on campus, students in the iCube worked to develop an immersive virtual reality simulation for Oculus Rift, allowing students to become the teacher of a kindergarten class. The students can also become the kindergartners in the class and create behavioral problems for the teacher to deal with.

Preparing future teachers through the use of virtual reality is not just an ideal concept anymore. At Tennessee Tech, it’s a reality.

The College of Education has created the VirtualImmerSiveInteractiveObservatioN(VISION) Research Center which is designed to work with immersive virtual reality and explore its impact and future in teaching, learning and K-12 education.

“It’s one thing to explain something, but without actually seeing it, it’s hard to apply what you have heard to what you can actually see,” said Jason Beach, assistant professor of instructional technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. “It’s going to improve our teacher candidates and make Tennessee Tech’s teacher education program ahead of everyone else in the state, even the nation.”